In the second half of the 4th millennium BCE, a radical transformation took place throughout the Ancient Near East. The first planned cities were built, and they rapidly developed into the first city-states. Urban culture flourished in the Land for more than one thousand years, until various factors, such as climate change, led to the cities’ collapse. For some three hundred years, the people of the Land returned to rural and semi-nomadic ways of life. It was during this time that bronze was worked for the first time, giving its name to the period.

At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, a rich urban civilization reappeared in the Land, and fortified city-states once again dotted the country. In written documents, the Land is called Canaan for the first time. Some scholars have suggested that this period, during which pastoral, tribal societies lived on the outskirts of Canaan’s large cities, should be seen as the backdrop for the biblical stories ofthe Patriarchs.

Egypt’s influence over Canaan began in the second half of the 16th century BCE, and direct Egyptian rule commenced in the early 15th century BCE. Despite this, the Canaanites retained their cultural and spiritual independence, and, in fact, their achievements in the realms of religion, literature, and art reached a peak.

The end of the 13th century BCE was a time of worldwide upheaval, which culminated in the fallof many great empires. Egypt weakened, and around 1200 BCE itsrule over Canaan began to draw to a close.